by Glory Lennon

Created on: May 03, 2009   Last Updated: May 05, 2009

The English Oak, Quercus Robur, is an extremely long lived deciduous tree native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. Specimens in England, where they prolifically populate the forests, are revered as shade trees and are planted in the discerning country landscape setting for its beautiful large canopied silhouette, have been dated 700-800 years old. Some of them are even famous enough to be given names and protection. One estimated to be 1000 years old in Lincolnshire, England is named the Bowthorpe Oak and is practically treated as royalty.

Though the English Oak had been brought to North America by English colonists back in the seventeenth century they have not overwhelmed the forests here and only small sections can be said to have English Oaks "escaped" into the wild. Pity, as they are an extraordinary and majestic tree.

Canada and the Northern United States have since widely planted the English Oak due to its beauty and, to a lesser extent, its cold hardiness. It resides quite happily, though perhaps not perfectly safely, in USDA Zones 4-8 . Some mature trees has been known to be killed by a particularly cold winter freeze. Its preferred zone is 5-6 where it typically grows about a foot per year.

The English Oak can grow to 140 feet in height and has a rounded canopy spreading to 80 plus feet wide when given the room. It tends to be a bit smaller in cultivation but still quite huge. It is therefore not suited to the typical suburban yard. The bark is rough and a grayish brown color with deep vertical groves running the length. The roots go deep with none breaking the surface. Good for those who crave a smooth lawn underneath trees. This tree likes the wet and heavy soil either acidic or alkaline. Any lengthy drought will likely do it harm. It likes full sun but will not do well in the hot, dry summers of the middle and southwestern United States and in the humid southeast the fungus Powdery Mildew can be a problem.

The leaves of the English Oak emerge a bright green which darken to a deep green as the summer progresses. They are 3-5 inches in length with 3-7 pairs of rounded lobes. The leaf stems or petioles are very short. The leaves, growing in clusters of 5-7 leaves form a circular pattern rather like the petals of a flower overlapping slightly. As with most Oaks the leaves of the English Oak don't make much of an autumn show and most of them don't drop at all staying stubbornly on the tree after all other deciduous trees have tossed their foliage

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